To Tweet or Not to Tweet – That is the Hotel Guest’s Question

With the surge in social media it is hard to find someone these days who doesn’t know what “tweeting” is. From celebrities posting pictures of their latest house to activists plugging their latest effort, Twitter has become highly utilized by mass media. But what does that do for the hospitality industry? And even more so how do hotel travelers and guests use this outlet as part of their hotel experience?

New research indicates that while guests may not “tweet” or send messages to the hotel property directly, guests do use Twitter as an outlet to relay information about the property, both positive and negative. So what does this mean for hotel properties? On the positive side of things hotel properties may have free advertising outlets as guests who enjoy their stay may be more apt to post information focusing on the good aspects of their stay. In the same sense hotels should also be weary of the influence of social media – one bad picture, tweet, etc. could lead to negative press and even effect the overall hotel image.

So what about those guests’s who do tweet directly to the hotel property? Recent findings show that these guests actually do so to get the attention of the hotel property. Even more interesting guests who use social media to relay information to hotel properties actually find that this type of communication is faster and more effective. And why wouldn’t it be – one poor image or example of bad service could lead to a whole slew of off-putting press.

Maybe it’s time for all of us to step up our game – guests tweet away and encourage positive service and hotels – your great service could lead to higher revenue and free press. After all, who doesn’t enjoy a little extra attention these days!